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  • Directing pupils off-site
  1. How we help
  2. Get support
  3. Exclusion from school
  4. Directing pupils off-site

Directing pupils off-site

Maintained schools have certain powers to direct pupils off-site for education to improve his or her behaviour, under s. 29A of the Education Act 2002, introduced by the Education and Skills Act 2008. Academies have similar powers if their Articles of Association are written to include this.

There are regulations governing the way maintained schools make such direction, including its purpose and review, under The Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) Regulations 2010) as amended by The Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

If the school decides to make such a direction they have to give a written notice of the following information:

  • the address at which the educational provision is to be provided for the pupil;
  • the person to whom the pupil should report on first attending that address for the purposes of receiving the educational provision;
  • the number of days for which the requirement is to be imposed;
  • the reasons for, and objectives of, imposing the requirement;
  • where two sessions per day are provided, the times at which the morning session starts, the afternoon session finishes and the break between them starts and finishes, or
  • where a single session per day is provided, the times at which the session starts and finishes.

The notice has to be given as soon as possible and at least two school days before the day on which the education will start.

The education has to be reviewed at least every thirty days. 

If a child has a disability then you may need to consider if directing the child off-site is discriminatory. You can find further information about that on our website here.

If the child has an EHC plan then the LA has to be invited to reviews and the duty to secure special educational provision under s.42 Children and Families Act 2014 continues. If the provision is not being secured, then you can complain to the LA using our model letter.

These regulatory requirements do not apply to Academies, nor are they required to follow the statutory guidance about direction off-site. However, it represents “an example of good practice” to follow them (para 25, Alternative Provision statutory guidance, January 2013)

The education should be on a par with what the child would normally receive but it doesn’t have to be the same – and if you have concerns about this you should make them clear to the school, to the placement the child is directed to and at any review meetings. It may also be relevant to considerations about whether the direction is discriminatory if the child is disabled.

The key thing will be to make sure that the child’s special educational needs are properly understood and the provision to meet those needs is being put in place. If this isn’t the case then it might be necessary to assess (or re-assess) the child’s needs or ask for the EHC plan to be reviewed as soon as possible – so that the right provision can be put in place.

Published: 28th March, 2018

Updated: 24th June, 2022

Author: Emma Brock

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Published: 19th March, 2014

Updated: 11th March, 2020

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Limited company 2198066

Registered office: IPSEA, 24-26 Gold Street, Saffron Walden, CB10 1EJ

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